ADJ. casual; hastily done
Because a cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson, we believe the insurance agency should undertake a more extensive investigation of the fire's cause.

dabble

V. work at in a non-serious fashion
The amateur painter dabbled at art, but seldom produced a finished piece.

dwadle

V. loister; waste time
At the mall, Mother grew impatient with Jo and Amy because they tended to dawdle as they went from store to store.

dearth

N. scarcity
The dearth of skilled labor compelled the emplyers to open trade schools.

decadence

N. decay or decline, especially moral; self-indulgence
We named our best-selling ice cream flavor "chocolate decadence" because only truly self-indulgent people would treat themselves to something so calorific and cholesterol-laden.

decorous

ADJ. proper
Prudence's decorous behavior was praised by her teachers, who wished they had a classroom full of such polite and proper little girls.

decoy

N. lure or bait.
The wild ducks were not fooled by the decoy.

decry

V. express strong disapproval of; disparage
The founder of the Children's Defence Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of financial and moral support for children in America today.

deface

V. mar; difigure
If you deface a library a book, you will have to pay a hefty fine.

defamation

N. harming a person's reputation
Defamation of character may result in a slander suit.

defeatist

ADJ. attitude of one who is ready to accept defeat as a natural outcome
If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed.

deference

N. courteous regard for another's wish
In deference to the minister's request, please do not take photographs during the wedding service.

defrock

V. strip a priest or minister of church authority
We knew the minister had violated church regulations, but we had not realized his offense was serious enough for people to seek to defrock him.

defunct

ADJ. dead; no longer in use or existence
The lawyers sought to examine the books of the defunct corporation.

deign

V. condescend; stoop
The celebrated fashion designer would not deign to speak to a mere seamstress.

deleterious

ADJ. harmful
If you believe taht smoking is deleterious to your health, then quit!

ADJ. calm; impartial
Known in the company for his cool judgment, Bill could impartially examine the causes of a problem, giving a dispassionate analsis of what had gone wrong, and go on to suggest how to correct the mess.

dispatch

N. speediness
Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch.

disputatious

ADJ. argumentative
Convinced he knew more than his lawyers, Tom was a disputatious client, ready to argue about the best way to conduct the case.

dissemble

V. disguise
Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew he was there not to dance but to meet girls.

disseminate

V. distribute; scatter
By their use of the Internet, propagandists have been able to disseminate their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.

dissertation

N. formal essay
In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to prepare a dissertation on some scholarly subject.

dissipate

V. squander; waste; scatter
He is a fine artist but we fear he may be dissipate his gifts if he keeps wasting his time doodling on napkins.

dissuade

V. persuade not to do; discourage
Since Tom could not dissade Huck from running away from home, he decided to run away with him.

divulge

V. reveal
No lover of gossip, Charlotte would never divulge anything that a friend told her in confidence.

docile

ADJ. obedient; easily managed
As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast.

dogmatic

ADJ. opinionated; arbitrary
We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong.

downcast

ADJ. disheartened; sad
Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced.

dregs

N. sediment; worthless residue
David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs.

dross

N. waste matter; worthless impurities
Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross.

duplicity

N. double-dealing; hypocrisy
When Tanya learned that Mark had been two-timing her, she was furious at his duplicity.